The Baltimore Orioles made a major move to upgrade their rotation Thursday, reaching a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers to acquire former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes for a package of prospects.

The 29-year-old Burnes is one of the best pitchers in baseball and was the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner. The right-hander struck out 234 in 167 innings that season with a league-leading 2.34 ERA.

Burnes, who is a free agent after the 2024 season, went 10-8 with a 3.39 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 193 2/3 innings last season to help the Brewers win the NL Central title.

In 2022, he topped the NL with 243 strikeouts in 202 innings while going 12-8 with a 2.94 ERA.

Heading to Milwaukee in the deal are left-hander D.L. Hall, infielder Joey Ortiz and the 34th pick in the 2024 draft.

Hall went 3-0 with a 3.26 ERA in 18 relief appearances last season and made his only major league start in 2022. Hall, 25, has spent most of his minor league career as a starter and has struck out 42 over 33 innings with 11 walks in 29 career appearances in the majors.

Ortiz, 25, made his major league debut last season and batted .212 with no home runs and four RBIs in 15 games.

A highly regarded defender, Ortiz could start in the Brewers’ infield this season, and could take over at shortstop in 2025 if incumbent Willy Adames leaves via free agency. Ortiz spent time at shortstop, second and third base for the Orioles.

Baltimore is coming off an AL East title and a 101-win season but was looking to upgrade its rotation. The Orioles now will have a payroll of around $90 million with Burnes’ $15.6 million salary added.

He joins a rotation with Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez – who had the third-best ERAs, respectively, among AL pitchers in the second half.